Bernd Leno made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he shoved a ball boy during Fulham’s match at Bournemouth. With 15 minutes left in the 90th minute at the Vitality Stadium, Fulham were two goals behind Bournemouth. Desperate to restart the match, the Fulham goalkeeper caught a ball from one of the ball boys behind the Fulham goal.
However, the ball boy did not throw the ball to the German goalkeeper when he asked for it. Instead, the Fulham ball boy deftly held the ball and walked over to deliver it to Leno. Frustrated with the ball boy, Bernd Leno pushed the Bournemouth ball boy. It wasn’t an aggressive push, but it was enough to send a message.
At that time, Leno was sitting with a yellow card. If referees intentionally touch someone on the bench, they usually get a yellow card in events like this. However, Leno escaped the situation without receiving a second warning from him. However, the situation did not matter to Fulham. The Cottagers lost the game at Dean Court. Furthermore, Bournemouth scored a goal to take a three-goal lead into injury time, adding to Fulham’s suffering.
However, the referees removed the ball boys from the entire field to avoid further altercations. That put an end to the multiple balls protocol at the end of the game. This goes against the Premier League’s ambition to prevent teams in the lead from wasting time.
Fulham manager insists there was no crime
After the match, Fulham manager Marco Silva claimed that Leno was not too out of character in the way he acted on the pitch. The Portuguese coach stated that it was not a push, but a touch. Silva said he was not sure whether the Bournemouth ball boys had instructions to delay the game as they did.
“I don’t know if it was instruction or not, but the ball boys were always delaying,” Silva said. “Bernd wanted to play fast and he took the ball from the ball boy. He didn’t push him, he wasn’t strong enough and he apologized.”
Bernd Leno is unlikely to face any kind of penalty for pushing the ball boy. Since this was not a serious interaction, the match referees dictated all the circumstances.
Bernd Leno creates the latest ball boy story in the game
The Premier League has a history of interactions with ball boys, both good and bad. For example, Eden Hazard once kicked a ball boy at Swansea when the ball boy did not give the ball to the Belgian when he was at Chelsea. A Tottenham ball boy made a heroic play during a Champions League match when he handed the ball to a Spurs player to quickly restart the game.
José Mourinho, then Tottenham coach, even congratulated the ball boy and gave him a tour of the first team facilities.
In this case, Bernd Leno apologized to the ball boy at the Bournemouth match for pushing him. He is likely to start between the sticks when the Cottagers host league leaders Arsenal on New Year’s Eve.
PHOTO: IMAGO
Charging…
Share This Event